Kanchi Nepali, a flash flood survivor, waits to receive relief supplies in the Devighat area of Nuwakot district in Nepal, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AP)
Kanchi Nepali, a flash flood survivor, waits to receive relief supplies in the Devighat area of Nuwakot district in Nepal, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AP)

A catastrophic flash flood that swept through Nepal's Himalayan border region on Aug. 26 has killed more than 600 people in Nepal and neighboring Tibet, destroying homes, roads and bridges and leaving survivors in hard-hit areas such as Nuwakot waiting for relief supplies as rescue teams dig through thick mud and debris.

Combined with 554 missing in Tibet, the total unaccounted for now stands at nearly 3,000, including more than 500 foreigners from over 30 countries such as India and the United States.

Nine South Korean nationals remain among the missing, workers at a hydropower plant construction site in Rasuwa, as a Seoul-dispatched response team continues search efforts hampered by weather-restricted helicopter flights.

Residents salvage their belongings from damaged houses after flash flooding in the Devighat area of Nuwakot district in Nepal, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AP)
Residents salvage their belongings from damaged houses after flash flooding in the Devighat area of Nuwakot district in Nepal, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AP)
A dog rests on muddy ground in front of a damaged house after flash flooding in the Devighat area of Nuwakot district in Nepal, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AP)
A dog rests on muddy ground in front of a damaged house after flash flooding in the Devighat area of Nuwakot district in Nepal, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AP)
A woman salvages usable materials from her house deluged in sludge following flash floods at Devighat in Nepal?s Nuwakot district on August 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AFP)
A woman salvages usable materials from her house deluged in sludge following flash floods at Devighat in Nepal?s Nuwakot district on August 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AFP)

Men view the destruction after the flash floods and mudslide, at Devighat, Nuwakot district, Nepal, August 29, 2026. (Yonhap-Reuters)
Men view the destruction after the flash floods and mudslide, at Devighat, Nuwakot district, Nepal, August 29, 2026. (Yonhap-Reuters)
People displaced by flash floods and a mudslide rest inside a relief camp in Trishuli, Nuwakot district, Nepal, August 29, 2026. (Yonhap-AP)
People displaced by flash floods and a mudslide rest inside a relief camp in Trishuli, Nuwakot district, Nepal, August 29, 2026. (Yonhap-AP)
Rescue personnel from the Armed Police Force drink water as they take a break in Devighat, Nuwakot district, Nepal, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AP)
Rescue personnel from the Armed Police Force drink water as they take a break in Devighat, Nuwakot district, Nepal, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AP)

Survivors stand near the swollen Trishuli River in the aftermath of flash flooding in the Devighat area of Nuwakot district in Nepal, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AP)
Survivors stand near the swollen Trishuli River in the aftermath of flash flooding in the Devighat area of Nuwakot district in Nepal, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AP)
A woman salvages her belongings from her house heavily covered in mud following flash floods at Devighat in Nepal's Nuwakot district on August 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AFP)
A woman salvages her belongings from her house heavily covered in mud following flash floods at Devighat in Nepal's Nuwakot district on August 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AFP)

People look at photographs of people killed in flash floods displayed outside a government hospital to help relatives identify the victims in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AP)
People look at photographs of people killed in flash floods displayed outside a government hospital to help relatives identify the victims in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AP)
A relative consoles Sabina Dangal outside a government hospital as she waits for news of her brother, who is missing after flash floods, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (AP-Yonhap)
A relative consoles Sabina Dangal outside a government hospital as she waits for news of her brother, who is missing after flash floods, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (AP-Yonhap)
Members of the police carry the body of a victim of flash floods and mudslides at the Maithali Barrack, an army training centre, at Trishuli in Nuwakot district, Nepal, August 28, 2026. (Yonhap-Reuters)
Members of the police carry the body of a victim of flash floods and mudslides at the Maithali Barrack, an army training centre, at Trishuli in Nuwakot district, Nepal, August 28, 2026. (Yonhap-Reuters)
Relatives check the lists of missing people following flash floods in Nepal, outside a hospital in Kathmandu on August 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AFP)
Relatives check the lists of missing people following flash floods in Nepal, outside a hospital in Kathmandu on August 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AFP)
A child looks at the photographs of missing people following flash floods, at a hospital in Kathmandu on August 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AFP)
A child looks at the photographs of missing people following flash floods, at a hospital in Kathmandu on August 28, 2026. (Yonhap-AFP)
Nepali Army personnel comfort twin infants during rescue operations in the aftermath of flash floods, at Trishuli camp in Nepal's Nuwakot district on August 27, 2026. (Yonhap-AFP)
Nepali Army personnel comfort twin infants during rescue operations in the aftermath of flash floods, at Trishuli camp in Nepal's Nuwakot district on August 27, 2026. (Yonhap-AFP)

gypark@heraldcorp.com